


Where the heart is

by rudbeckia



Category: Welcome to Night Vale
Genre: Angst, Family, Fluff, Gen, M/M, Spoilers, episode 70b spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-16
Updated: 2015-06-21
Packaged: 2018-04-04 16:54:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,051
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4145403
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rudbeckia/pseuds/rudbeckia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Beginning with Steve, Cecil's friends and family describe their night out at the Old Opera House and the immediate aftermath.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Opera is pretty cool.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve describes his night at the Old Opera House.

Wow! Opera is a blast!

Literally. It was nothing like I expected. When he gave us the tickets, Cecil told me it would probably be a bit like the petting zoo so of course Janice wanted to go. And Cecil knows about local news and stuff. I thought it would be a nice evening out for the family. Abby got the evening off too and we dressed for a night with the animals. I wore my thickest denims, Abby carried her best riot shield and Janice has grown into Abby's old gauntlets so we were pretty well dressed for an encounter with hungry wolves.

And for opera, as it turned out.

We got there in plenty of time because Janice likes to be early. I saw Cecil outside, dolled up to the nines as usual, and I called to him and waved, but he had his back to me and seemed to be staring out over the crowd of opera-goers. Anyway, he didn't turn round so I guess he didn't see me. 

Shame, he could have come in with our family group. We got great seats right near the front. Janice was real excited to be able to see down into the pit. I wondered at the lack of straw and sawdust. There were no feeding troughs either, but I thought maybe they would bring out the wolves once the opera house filled up a bit more. So I told Janice to be patient.

She's a real good kid. I'm so proud of her I could burst.

We chatted about this and that until the curtains twitched and Josie came upstage and gave a little speech. She raised a glass of something and toasted old friends. She was grinning about something that wasn't in her speech I'm sure. Janice kept twisting, pushing herself around to look everywhere. I asked what she was doing and she said she thought Aunt Josie had a secret and she was looking to see what it might be. 

I laughed and told her old women all had secrets and it was usually best not to pry. 

Anyway, some people came onstage after Josie left and started the opera. It was not what I expected at all! Cecil was definitely wrong about opera. He might yell at me for saying that but, you know, you gotta tell the truth as you see it. Especially to kids like Janice who question everything. Did I mention how proud I am of her? Oh, I did. Okay. I'm double-proud.

It was real interactive. Folks had brought bags of food for the animals in the petting zoo so when the opera started the audience did what they thought best and lobbed stuff at the stage. Some of the people on stage caught things and threw them back before ducking back under the curtain. Janice was just so tickled! She was laughing and crying all at once. We couldn't see much, what with the dark and the curtain being kept pretty low, but the cast did a great job from the knees down, at least.

There was a real commotion. Hiram McDaniels was in the cast, hidden in plain sight! I turned to Abby and nudged her elbow. "Didn't I say he was still somewhere in town?" I said. She told me to shut up and watch the opera. "But there's a conspiracy to--" 

At that point, Hiram took off and attacked someone. I couldn't see properly because the lights went out and there were flames so I threw myself over Janice. Janice did not appreciate that at all, she told me to get off because she wanted to see the action and I was in the way. Abby told me to stop being so silly because the dragon was clearly just following stage directions and we were in no more danger than usual so I hoisted Janice up so she could see better.

Oh boy the rest of the opera was good! There was fighting and flames and yelling and screaming. I saw Cecil cuffed to his chair, trying to get up and join in. Maybe that's how he got the extra tickets, don't cast members get a few free ones for family and such? I'm real pleased he thought of giving them to us instead of... um... maybe... well. Even the Sheriff's Secret Police were in on it! They made a big show of running in and arresting McDaniels, throwing flameproof bags over four of his heads and apologising to the purple one. Do you think Hiram informed on himself? That's gonna be awkward when he's in prison.

If I'd known opera was this entertaining maybe we'd've got into it earlier, before the old opera house shut down because of all those puppies. 

I think my favourite character was Lee Marvin. I had no idea he was such a versatile performer. 

After, we waited for the theatre to clear and I pushed Janice out. Abby put her arms around my waist from behind and we shuffled past Cecil. He was still completely in character and didn't notice us at all! What a professional. Janice saw Abby and me kiss by the main door and made sicky noises until we all laughed and Abby pretended to gag her. 

Just then a huge limo pulled up and Josie opened the door.  
"Get in!" she said. "I have a surprise for you and your family!"  
Josie's kinda hard to disobey. I think she gets voice coaching or hypnosis lessons from her friends, Erika and Erika and... ah you know who I mean. We got in. It sure is a nice limo, a waiter served food and drinks and someone called Erika somehow made Janice's chair fit without collapsing it. that was real convenient. I asked if they could show me how they did it but they just wagged one long, long finger at me and shook their head. 

And Janice squealed when she saw Josie's surprise sitting in the corner chatting with the Mayor as if nothing of the last year had even happened. I guess she'll tell you about that herself.


	2. Janice's Diary

Dad says I should write down what happened tonight before I forget. He says people forget all kinds of important stuff. I didn't want to because I'm real sleepy but Mom said I could use her secret laptop so I didn't have to worry about spelling. 

I wanted to go to the opera because Uncle Cecil said it would be fun. He's usually right about things being fun or not fun. I hope he comes to my birthday party like he said. Adults don't always do what they say.

The opera was super fun! There was singing and I think there was dancing too. It was hard to see under the curtain but I ducked down as far as I could to look up under it. We were sat right at the front. I could just see there was a pit in front of me with an old guy playing a whistle-thing. He must have been nearly as old as Dad. He sang too and acted and threw stuff pretty good.

Aunt Josie came out and said some words I didn't listen to. She winked and smiled at Uncle Cecil who was sat way back from us. I waved but he didn't see and Dad said to sit quiet. Then there were some songs and stuff which were okay I guess. 

Near the end was the best bit. There was a fight with fire and a dragon! Dad thought it was real and got all, you know, _dad_ about it. Duh! I couldn't see a thing! I yelled at him to get off me and Mom yelled at him too. He said sorry he got all protective again and held me up so I could see what was going on behind us properly.

Uncle Cecil tried to join in the fight but he couldn't get up. That would have been so funny and cool! Mom says no it would not but she's wrong. Wow, the place was wrecked after! I bet the janitors got real angry, like at school if somebody throws up or breaks a window.

After that there was more singing and dancing but I knew the best bit was over and we went out. Aunt Josie and Erika offered us a ride home. We got in her big car and I saw Uncle Carlos! He was talking to the Mayor so I didn't want to interrupt because she's real important but he saw me too and gave me the biggest hug and said he missed me and he was real happy to be home. He smelled funny so I pushed him off and he said sorry. 

Erika gave me some raspberry lemonade and we had a competition to see who could burp the alphabet until Mom told me to stop being gross.

Then Aunt Josie stopped the car again and Uncle Cecil got in. He looked real sad so I gave him a hug and said thanks for the tickets and told him my favourite part and asked him if he was really going away and was he coming to my birthday with Uncle Carlos and he kind of frowned then he looked round because I pointed at Uncle Carlos and he ran over and just grabbed on to Uncle Carlos and wouldn't let go. I think he cried a bit. So did Dad but he thinks I didn't see.

Mom said it was great that Uncle Cecil and Dana were friends again too. I wanted to talk more with Uncle Cecil and Uncle Carlos but Dad said leave them alone and Erika offered me more lemonade and showed me they could get as far as K and I couldn't let them win.


	3. I know two things

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cecil already gave his initial reaction to seeing Carlos.   
> How does he feel a few hours later?

The thing with Hiram. I don't want to talk about it now. There will be time for all the words I have not yet said on that matter. 

Carlos is asleep at last. I can't, I can't bear not to be aware of all the little signs: the sound of his breathing, the creaks and rustles as he shifts around looking for comfort in my... our bed. I wanted to leave the light on and watch him sleep but he said no, please, turn it off. He explained that darkness has been a rare luxury for him and he wanted to lie in bed in the dark.

Of course it was past dawn by the time we finished talking, or at least decided to stop for now. I turned off the bedside lamp and we lay in the grey almost-light, quiet, together. We lay side by side until he reached down and took my hand and I wept again tears of some emotion or other. Not joy, not yet. Regret for what happened to us perhaps. Relief that we have lives to share. Anger that he was kept from me by... 

No, I do not want to talk about that yet either. 

Later, in weeks rather than days, we will sit down and have a calm, adult discussion with active listening and polite pauses to gather our thoughts. Or it may be that I will benefit from the traditional Night Vale remedy of wadding those feelings down until they resurface, pushed up by the force of some poorly understood, uncharted, internal current and I will add my voice to the throng screaming at the void over Grove Park.

Whichever path I choose does not matter. I can see they lead to the same destination.

Last night, after the opera, after finding myself abandoned by my friends and family, I had no reason to call this town _home_ other than familiar streets and a shared history. Dana was, I believed, gone, vanquished by eighty percent of Hiram McDaniels. Josie had her after party to attend and wouldn't have time for me. Abby and Steve had to look after Janice. Earl, that reconnection to a life I barely remember, had other commitments tonight. 

I splashed my way along the street trying to avoid looking in the puddles and thinking about a new start in a new town, a new radio show and a new life with someone I knew loved me. Maybe he loved something else too but love is not something that can be measured and portioned out and found wanting. I knew he loved me. There can never be any accusation of _but not enough_. 

I thought about my beautiful, brilliant scientist as I trudged home to finish packing. The more my mind dwelt upon our possible future, the faster I walked and the more sure I became that Night Vale was not where we belonged. We each belonged where the other was. Carlos came to Night Vale and found me. It was my turn to find him and learn to thrive in his environment.

I could not wait.

Still, I was feeling pretty sorry for myself, right? There I was, trudging through the desert rain storm, still handcuffed to the arm of the chair, mentally and physically weary and getting blisters from my rain soaked footwear. So there was a little voice in my head saying things like, _well if they'd SAID you'd be walking you could have worn the giraffe print wellington boots and brought your poppy umbrella_ and _typical, my last night in town and I'm walking home in the rain because they've forgotten me already._

Josie's limo pulled up beside me, wow it was a long vehicle! pretty wide too, probably should have had a police escort but there wasn't much other traffic and the Mayor was there so I guess it was all above board. I got in and everyone was there! I... I will confess to a little pettiness. I really tried to be ungrateful, to resent their abandoning me, but Josie said they'd been circling the block looking for me, she and... um... Erika were concerned when I was not with them after the curtain dropped the short distance to the stage. Everyone thought I was definitely with someone else when in truth I was on my own with thoughts of leaving.

I graciously accepted champagne. The first to greet me was Janice! I thought, of all the people I'm leaving here, this is the one I will miss painfully. Janice, my niece. Abby and Steve were there too, of course. I sat beside my niece and she hugged me. Janice chatted on about the opera. I hardly took in a word of what she said, and I felt bad because I would have to admit it and ask her to say it all again but I was not in the right frame of mind for listening to anyone. 

Until I heard her say _Uncle Carlos says you don't have to move..._

My stomach fluttered in a way it has not since... since those early days when Carlos and I barely knew each other. My head buzzed and my heart, I am sure although Carlos says it is scientifically unlikely, my heart headed up into my throat. I felt my pulse beat harder and faster and my mouth dried so that it was difficult to stop her, to ask Janice to repeat in case I had misheard her words.

I looked where she pointed at the back corner of the vehicle. There, impossibly close and way too far away, sat Carlos. His eyes, dark flecked with amber, focused entirely on me. I stared back. I started to speak but I had no words to express the emotions I experienced in those seconds where our eyes communicated volumes. He did that nervous half-smile and then we were holding tight to each other, mumbling apologies and explanations and...

And Carlos said he was home to stay.

Josie's limo dropped us off at my apartment, with the packing crates and the suitcases waiting for me to move out. Carlos laughed when he saw and held me close again. He asked if I was really prepared to leave my home for him.   
"Yes," I said. "Without you, and with everything that has happened to me here, it just didn't feel like my home any more. Now, after all this, honestly, I have no idea. We have a lot to talk through, Carlos. There's a lot that I am not sure about any more, but I am certain of two things."  
"Oh?" he said and frowned.  
I shrugged. "First, I love you."  
"I love you too," he replied immediately. "What's the second thing?" He matched my smile with his own and we laughed.

So we talked and we dozed and Carlos took a shower and... well. We didn't talk all night but we didn't sleep all night either. I sit here, my back against the bed-frame, Carlos asleep beside me, his hand on my knee and his head shaking, vocalising as he frowns at his dreams. I am going to stop writing and wake him up in a moment, the way I used to with my hand stroking his face and my soft words in his ear until a sharp inhale tells me his bad dream is over and his eyes open to see me. 

We still have things we need to talk about. Things about priorities and assumptions and communication and mixed feelings. But they can wait.


	4. Being two people

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mayor Dana

I knew Josie was planning something but I did not know what that something was until after the opera finished and we were all at the after party drinking champagne, not too much, and laughing while Leann Hart wrote a review. 

We met before it all began, in front of the New Old Opera House. I was Mayor Cardinal for the grand opening, so I made a speech, a vote of thanks to Josie and Erika and the new owners of StrexCorp for putting in so much time and dedicated effort. It takes a lot of effort to get anything new done around here. A _lot._ Josie got cheers but the small crowd of opera-goers went real quiet when I mentioned StrexCorp. There was a ribbon to cut using the traditional ancient Giant Scissors that are kept on display at City Hall. They were a bit rusty from years of neglect and Erika had to help me with them. The last new building to open in Night Vale was the reconstructed Arby's that is exactly the same as the old, demolished Arby's, but I wasn't mayor back then and it was never formally opened. I was still in the Dog Park and Trish was stuck in the... you know, she probably doesn't want me to remind her of those days. Let us look to the future instead.

The New Old Opera House was very grand, probably the grandest building I have ever been inside! Josie reserved a box for the Mayoral party. I could see over the audience and the stage. We had a fantastic view. I looked down once and I saw Cecil shouting and waving at the stage. Lots of people shouted at the stage and the cast shouted back. It was very interactive. I will ask Josie if we can display a copy of the score with some photographs in one of the display cabinets at City Hall. That would be nice.

As soon as I felt the Faceless Old Woman behind me and saw scaly feet with talons under the curtain, I asked Trish to make sure Cecil was safe. She nodded and patted me shoulder and disappeared downstairs into the stalls. McDaniels revealed himself, pulling off his disguise and leaping into the air. Trish came back and tried to pull me out of the way but that is not what saved me.

I stood my ground. I know Cecil thought it was me who owned Lot 37 but it was not. I could never own another sentient being and, to tell the truth, it really hurt me that Cecil thought I was capable of such a deplorable act and that I was capable of lying to him about it. I sure did need to be saved a few times, but he was my friend. I'm sure I could have asked for his help. What happened to him was wrong and unfair and drove this enormous wedge into the space between us. 

I saw McDaniels preparing to attack. At least, most of Hiram was preparing to attack. Four of his heads spread out, pointing at me, jaws wide. He was so close that I could see a little flame at the back of each throat. But the fifth head, the one that likes to be called Violet, wasn't looking at me at all. Violet pulled the rest of Hiram off course and bit at his other heads to put him off his aim. Someone else was setting things on fire by this point too and it got real confusing. 

Trish told me that Cecil was safe in his seat and I should slip away to safety while Hiram was too confused by all the extra fires to notice me. We left by the fire escape. It meant we missed the end of the opera but I didn't mind because there was something, or someone, waiting in the foyer. It was Carlos!

Well, I had not seen Carlos since the time I projected myself back into Night Vale permanently and he could not do that. That made me sad, but he said it was okay and not to worry about him. He said, "Hey, I am a scientist and a scientist is always fine!" then said he'd find another way home.

I hugged Carlos to make sure he was solid and not doing that head shift trick I showed him up in the lighthouse. He smiled and asked if Cecil looked like he was enjoying the opera. I told Carlos... you know what? Carlos can tell his own story. But we talked and talked about all kinds of things, about Doug and about the masked army. I was sorry to hear the masked warriors got injured in another battle. They were so helpful in getting Night Vale back for us. So ruthlessly helpful. Doug didn't trust me at all at first, it took ages to build up our alliance, and I guess Carlos confused him. I think he could not understand how such a tiny person could tell him what to do like that. Carlos does that I guess. And maybe that is what Cecil needs. 

Josie's after party limo picked us up from the front of the opera house. Josie asked if Cecil was with us, but I said I hadn't seen him, I missed the end because of most of McDaniels. Carlos told Josie that he had not seen Cecil yet either. Josie told us to get in anyway and Cecil would probably be with his family. Carlos and I talked some more at the party, a weird mix of reminiscence about the Dog Park and fears for the future. The limo filled up but Cecil did not arrive. His family came without him. Josie looked concerned. She asked Erika if they knew anything but Erika shook their head slowly. Josie told the driver to keep circling until Cecil was found.

We did find him. Carlos was telling me about how his lab and home got destroyed when he turned his head and stared. He stopped talking. I wondered if he had learned how to project from Night Vale back into the Dog Park and maybe he was visiting Doug briefly but, when I saw where he was looking, I understood. 

Cecil was here at last, he was safe. Cecil sat a little way off with his family but his eyes were on Carlos. I don't know who moved first but a space cleared for them and they ran at each other and hugged tight. Cecil opened his eyes just long enough to know that I had seen him too. I smiled at him and winked to show that we were going to be be okay, sometime soon, and merged into the crowd at the back of the party to be Mayor again.

Sometimes it's real nice just to be Dana.


	5. Intelligence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Josie knows more than she's letting on.

This was supposed to be a night for everyone. Erika asked if I was bothered that so many other stories were going to be told instead of mine. But I told them no, I will tell my story in my own time.

The New Old Opera House was spectacular. With its columns and marble staircase up to the grand portals, the atrium with plush green carpet and bark panelled walls, the grand theatre with the opulent hangings, gold and crimson, brass-studded velvets on the seats... My Angels, I said when I saw it completed, what a sight for sore eyes. I wandered through the whole place, remembering how it once looked and it seemed the last couple of decades somehow did not matter.

I knew about Frank Chen, of course. I am old but I am not stupid, I look and sound like a southern grandmother but I am a survivor like Cecil. And like Her. Oh, I knew all about Her too. In hindsight, more fire extinguishers would have been a prudent safety precaution. Erika is looking into that for when the repairs are finished. Her role was clear, we discussed it as soon as Frank Chen's plot became obvious. She didn't want that arrogant dragon taking over any more than the rest of us did. Well now, you know that saying about the enemy of my enemy? She's not a friend but she was an ally for just long enough. I told Her _this is my town_ and She countered with _it is Mine!_ and we went back and forth until Erika stopped bringing us coffee and we agreed on one thing. This town would never belong to Hiram rob-the-poor-to-feed-the-rich McDaniels.

Dana and She will have their own battle in due course. Today was not their day.

We agreed in advance that the confrontation should go ahead as McDaniels planned. To prevent it would be to give him another opportunity at a later date, an opportunity we could not control. Dana insisted that Cecil should be kept out of the battle. I wanted him on our side, he has proved himself useful in a fight before, but She agreed that Cecil should not be put in any more danger and said she would see to it that he was unable to spring to Dana's protection. That left Dana with Trish and myself, with a small shield of Angels. Erika and Erika couldn't be spared, they muttered something about the Dog Park and asked to be excused the battle. I reckoned we would get by with just Erika, Erika and Erika.

Where was I? Oh yes, we knew when McDaniels planned his attack because he told Her and She reported back to me. We've always shared a bond although we have been distant from time to time. I am not going to tell that story today either. The dragon, or the purple fifth of him, told Her he planned to attack with fire during his quintet aria. I was irritated that he planned to ruin my opera after all the work put in, but Dana pointed out that everyone would see a spectacular show and want to come back. One of the angels, I think it was Erika, fluttered their golden wings and said they would make sure we used the battle as a part of our marketing campaign to make the second opera we staged profitable. I need to have words with that one. Who ever heard of the arts being driven by profit! 

Once everyone in the theatre was seated and the doors were locked, I went backstage to wish the cast well and headed onstage to give a verbal pat on the back to all the sentient beings who contributed to the opening night. Erika intercepted me on my way to the stage and told me about their trip to the Dog Park. Well. I was so happy for them! Of course Carlos would have to wait in the atrium because he didn't have a ticket. I tried to communicate to Cecil that he was in for a nice surprise but he just stared at me, that clueless frown on his face. I said my piece, counted three, bowed and left the stage. 

I sat close to Dana. As we planned, She secured Cecil while Dana deliberately ignored him. I had to stop Dana from telling Cecil all about it in advance in case he told the entire town, you know what he's like! I swear that man has no secrets. Maybe that's what keeps him safe. The opera went real well, I was so proud of the cast. Lee Marvin was just wonderful. What that man can't do with a slide whistle would... well. Enough about that. 

McDaniels stuck to his plan. We were ready. When he lifted off the stage, Violet tried to pull him off course and snapped at the other heads to spoil their aim. Dana escaped with Trish when She started a few small fires to make McDaniels think he had successfully blasted the Mayor into a pile of ashes. The Angels kept the audience safe from falling embers and stray fire, before helping the Sheriff's Secret Police to arrest four fifths of the dragon and keep him subdued.

The rest of the opera went pretty well. The opera-goers seemed to enjoy the audience participation fight scene and I might suggest to the incredibly talented Mr Marvin that he writes the next one to be every bit as interactive as his debut. 

We all met at the after party in my opera-class limo. Somehow we all missed Cecil but Carlos was first there, relaxing at the back with a glass of champagne and chatting with Dana. He asked when Cecil would get here. I said, "Soon, be patient." But as Cecil's friends and family arrived in small groups without him, I got concerned. I told Erika to circle the block a few times in case Cecil had forgotten where to come. I asked everyone who was supposed to bring Cecil but everybody said it was somebody else's job to invite him. 

I sent two Angels out into the rain to look for Cecil. They were not keen, whined about being angels not ducks, but they rolled all their eyes and went when I stared them down for a few seconds. They found Cecil quickly and communicated his location to Erika in the driver's seat and we picked him up. He still had the handcuffs and the chair arm in his hand. Trish took them off him and he sat with his niece.

Cecil's face, and Carlos's, when they saw each other... How could anyone think they were not meant to be together?

I'm glad Cecil patched things up with the Mayor. She is going to need all the friends she can find when She decides to strike.


	6. Home is...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carlos explains why he came home, but it is not as smooth as he wanted.

Where do I even begin! I guess the beginning would be logical, but since time is weird around here, and more so in the Dog Park, there's no guarantee that we will agree on whether one event preceded another. Cause and effect.

I was happy for a while in the desert otherworld. It was fascinating! I was always busy, studying and observing and experimenting and keeping real detailed notebooks. Kevin was there for a lot of it. He was real helpful, a good friend I guess. He was my assistant when I went out to take measurements, he liked to carry equipment and take care of my notebooks sometimes although I wouldn't let him write in them. He was real keen for me to find out where all the apparently free energy came from. I said it couldn't be free, it had to come from somewhere, energy must be being taken out of another place and delivered to our place because you can't make energy or destroy it, just move it around a bit. He nodded and smiled that kinda creepy smile and said _Hey friend, I get it, nothing is free. There is always a price to pay._

I decided that I would wrap up my science work and leave just as soon as I had worked out where the energy was coming from. Kevin was so keen for me to find out, so supportive of my efforts. I didn't talk it over with Cecil because I wanted to surprise him. I know he didn't really want to leave his job and his family and Khoshekh behind. He saw how peaceful the new desert otherworld community is but I wonder if that is because people there didn't really talk much to each other. They were once Night Vale people with all the mistrust of their neighbours that entails, and I saw them build their dwellings carefully far apart with high walls.

Kevin was a real hard guy to say no to. I really tried, when he got too insistent, pressuring me for updates on my productivity. I tried putting him off and talking about something else but he just kept on and on and on... I can't take that kind of pressure! Science takes as long as it takes! I can't promise to have results and know the answers by this date or that, other things, unexpected things pop up all the time and have to be investigated and factored in and added to the big picture and... Who even knows where time goes anyway!

So when I decided to leave I spent literally hours agonising over how to tell Kevin I was leaving. I didn't want just to vanish, that wouldn't be fair on him, although sometimes after he'd been to see me I would wonder what would happen if I packed up all my notebooks and walked out of town and just kept walking and walking and walking. But I could not do that. Kevin had been so friendly and he said he needed me and we were friends and friends treat each other a certain way and don't desert each other and hadn't he stayed with me even though... Even though clearly I didn't like him enough because he did all these helpful things for me and I didn't always deserve such a good friend.

But I did like him, at first. He made me happy that there was this other person I could talk to about science the way I used to talk to Cecil. Kevin said I could call him any time at all with my latest results and discoveries and I thought that was really cool because Cecil put a limit on it, I called him too much sometimes, Cecil that is, and he had his own things to worry about. I tried to talk to Kevin about that and he was real good, just smiled and nodded and turned the conversation right back round to science until I forgot that I was sad.

I know exactly the moment when I realised I was not happy. It was when I had to say goodbye to Cecil after his vacation. I know I asked him to move and come live with me and I know he agreed and got all packed up but I still was not happy. I was less sad, I guess, but that is not the same thing at all. I thought I should write down all the things that made me want to stay in the Otherworldly Desert. I wrote: (1) Science (2) Cecil's moving here. 

I reasoned that when my science project was over there would be no need for Cecil to move here. There would be nothing else to keep me. Kevin was getting too impatient. I wrote him a letter. I wanted to slip it under his door and just go but he saw me and made me go in to talk about how my results were ruined. I think I explained pretty well how I felt and I left the letter for him. I hope he's okay. I'm sure he'll make another friend sooner or later. 

So I left my ruined lab kitchen and walked and walked and walked. I got the direction right by following Cecil's directions backwards. It was a long way, I knew Ceece would be at the opera and I wanted to slip into the seat beside him and hold his hand or something like that but I would be late, like a couple days late. I was getting real down about that when these two super tall creatures with wings who introduced themselves as Erika and Erika joined me and said _close your eyes_ in a way I couldn't ignore. So I kind of blinked and I wasn't in the desert any more, I was in the foyer of the New Old Opera House! 

I can hardly describe just how happy that made me!

The two Erikas left me there and said wait for people to come out then get into the after party limo because Cecil would be there too. I saw Janice come out followed by Steve and Abby and we got in the limo. Janice was so sweet! She yelled _Uncle Carlos!_ and I got the biggest hug until she pushed me off and asked why I smelled funny. Abby started to scold her for being rude but I said it was a scientifically accurate observation just expressed in non-scientific language. So Janice and I chatted for a few minutes. She invited me to her birthday party and dropped some hints about wanting a sports style chair so she can do stunts.

Steve waved to me but Abby kinda froze me out. Dana got in and she seemed pleased to see me. We chatted for a while. I told her about the masked army and she said I was wrong to try to change them to fit my life there. She said they are warriors and that was real useful a year ago and it might be real useful again one day, I shouldn't have tried to turn Doug and Alisha into something they're not. I should value them for who and what they are even if they did ruin a whole year's work. Dana made that out to be all my own fault too. But just as I was getting real annoyed with her preaching and being right about stuff, I looked round and there he was! Cecil! 

My heart stopped and raced all at once. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't move, or rather I did move but I was not aware of it. He looked... he looked all incredulous and concerned and soaked through from the rain. And then we were in each other's arms and the past year was over. We stood there, in the middle of the party, babbling and crying at each other. I closed my eyes tight and held on for as long as I could. I said some stuff about how I was home now I knew where home was, what home meant.

Josie dropped us off at our apartment. It was all packed up, of course, and we had things to say. We shared a joke and I took a shower and we talked a bit. I said I was sorry I had been away for so long, that I had been unfair on him, asking him to leave everything to be with me. Cecil said that was a discussion for another day, that we had more to discuss. I went quiet at that and he hugged me again, stroked my cheek and reassured me that it wasn't the bad kind of _we need to talk_ it was the good kind where we think how we feel about things and we're stronger afterwards. 

He held me until I fell asleep. I woke a few times with Cecil's hand on my face and his voice in my ear telling me I was safe. I must have had bad dreams although I don't remember them. I woke properly with sunlight streaming through the curtains and the smell of good coffee and I did not know where I was for a moment. I got up to shower and stuff. When I came out he was there, wearing one of my lab-coats as a robe. He handed me coffee and I asked if he wanted us to talk.

He said, "not yet, I am still figuring out how I feel."  
I replied, "are you disappointed that I came home?"  
"No!" He insisted. "Not at all! It's just that I was all ready to move and now I'm not moving and that's great, but I said goodbye and resigned and we have to move out because the lease is ending. I'm going to be unemployed and homeless and... ugh I can't deal with this, Carlos! I don't know what to do! I was so sure of my future, I had the certainty of knowing what I wanted, where I would live and work. Now I have uncertainty."  
I said, "You have me," then asked, "Would you be happier if we moved? Because we can, we can go live in New Desert Bluffs. I'll rebuild my lab and..."  
Cecil froze. He asked me to say the name of the town again. I repeated and elaborated, "Desert Bluffs. Kevin named the town after his old home."  
Cecil picked up his coffee and frowned. "Well, I guess I could call station management and you could call the landlord's office. There is no way I am moving to Desert Bluffs."  
We looked at each other. Cecil smiled and we hugged. 

"I missed this," I admitted. "Being close, touching. I missed your presence." I held Cecil but not too tight like last night in the limo. I told Cecil I loved him and although we all live with a degree of uncertainty, I intended not to leave him again. I would make my home wherever he was happy. I guess I said the right thing because he got that look in his eyes that means...

Hey, I'm not going to tell you everything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hmmm, I think my Carlos chapter is weak. Maybe I should change it to be either about his reasons for leaving Kevin OR about his feelings about being back home, but not both.
> 
> Opinions? Anyone?


End file.
